Skip to main content
Sign in
Menu
Enter your code
The law

Fire Safety Act 2021 and Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

It makes sure the fire risk assessment for every block of flats looks at the external walls and flat front doors, not only the corridors. The Act brought them into the assessment, and the 2022 Regulations add fire door checks above 11 metres and more duties at 18 metres or 7 storeys.

Every block of flats11 m residential buildingHigher-risk buildingChecked against legislation.gov.uk on .
On this page

In short

  • Every block of flats. Where a building has two or more homes, the fire risk assessment covers its structure, external walls (including windows and balconies) and flat front doors (Fire Safety Act 2021 s.1, adding art. 6(1A) and (1B) to the Fire Safety Order; in force in England 16 May 2022).
  • Above 11 metres. Communal fire doors are checked at least every 3 months, and flat front doors with best endeavours every 12 months (reg. 10; in force 23 January 2023).
  • At 18 metres or 7 storeys (a high-rise residential building, reg. 3): a secure information box (reg. 4), a record of the external walls (reg. 5), floor plans (reg. 6), monthly checks of lifts and firefighting equipment (reg. 7) and wayfinding signs (reg. 8).

Your line

Three example buildings against the 11 metre and 18 metre lines, all marked. The fire risk assessment duties apply to every block of flats. Fire door checks apply above 11 metres. Regulations 4 to 8 apply at 18 metres or 7 storeys.

Every block of flats is covered. More duties start above 11 metres, and more again at 18 metres.Illustrative

Does this apply to my building?

Does this apply to a small block of flats?

Yes: the wider fire risk assessment applies to any building with two or more sets of domestic premises, whatever its height (Fire Safety Act 2021 s.1).

How is the height measured for these duties?

To the top storey. The fire door checks apply to a building above 11 metres (reg. 10(8)); a high-rise residential building is at least 18 metres above ground level or at least 7 storeys (reg. 3).

Is a high-rise residential building the same as a higher-risk building?

The tests are close but come from different laws: these regulations use reg. 3, and the Building Safety Act 2022 uses s.65.

Building Safety Act 2022

What you need to do

For the responsible person under the Fire Safety Order:

  1. Assess the fire risks, including the structure, external walls and flat front doors (Fire Safety Act 2021 s.1).

  2. Give residents fire safety information in a building with two or more sets of domestic premises and common parts used to evacuate, at any height (regulation 9).

  3. Check fire doors above 11 metres: communal fire doors at least every 3 months, flat front doors with best endeavours at least every 12 months (regulation 10).

  4. In a high-rise residential building: keep a secure information box (regulation 4), record the design and materials of the external walls (regulation 5), keep floor plans and a building plan (regulation 6), check lifts and firefighting equipment every month (regulation 7) and fit wayfinding signs (regulation 8).

The detail

What counts as an external wall?

Doors or windows in the external walls, and anything attached to the outside of them, including balconies (art. 6(1B) of the Fire Safety Order, added by s.1).

What exactly do the fire door checks require?

Communal fire doors at least every 3 months, and flat front doors with best endeavours at least every 12 months, in a building above 11 metres (regulation 10(4) and (6)).

Where do evacuation plans come from?

A separate instrument: the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/797), in force from 6 April 2026.

They cover a building with two or more sets of domestic premises that is at least 18 metres high, has at least 7 storeys, or is more than 11 metres high with a simultaneous evacuation strategy (reg. 3).

Who enforces these duties?

The regulations are made under the Fire Safety Order and have no offence of their own; your fire and rescue authority enforces the Order (art. 25).

Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

What changed and when

  1. 16 May 2022: Fire Safety Act 2021 s.1 comes into force in England (SI 2022/544).
  2. 23 January 2023: the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 come into force (reg. 1(2)).
  3. 6 April 2026: the Fire Safety (Residential Evacuation Plans) (England) Regulations 2025 come into force.

How Golden Ledger helps

When your council sends you a letter, Golden Ledger keeps one clear record of your building, which your council reviews. It asks about your building's external walls, fire doors and fire safety measures, and lets you upload your fire risk assessment. See when your council has reviewed your submission.

Sources and checked date

Checked against legislation.gov.uk on . What has changed

General information, not legal advice. Golden Ledger shows which rules and funding routes may apply, based on your answers. A qualified professional should confirm them. Golden Ledger does not enforce the law, is not the Building Safety Regulator and does not give legal advice. Your council reviews what you send. Fire safety law is enforced by your fire and rescue authority. In higher-risk buildings, the Building Safety Regulator also enforces the duties in Part 4 of the Building Safety Act 2022.

Got a letter from your council?

Enter the code to claim your building. It is free for owners.